FEELINGS
by zaara26
Summary: It's all about Lisbon...what more can I say? Oh...and there is no Lisbon without...Jane! so actually a Jisbon. Enjoy...story better than the title...
1. Chapter 1

HI EVERYONE!

I am back after a long break...

Enjoy this...

R & R PLZZZZZ

DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO BRUNO HELLER AND MY! DOES HE LIKE TO BUILD JISBONY TENSION...

'Ding Dong!' The bell sounded. Lisbon wiped her tears with a tissue, looked up from her book and stared at the door, willing whoever was there to go away. She wondered momentarily who it would be at that time of the night. A moment of silence ensued. She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the person has left. She smiled slightly and started reading again. 'Ding Dong!' the bell sounded again.

"Ah!" she said in frustration as she took off her feet from the coffee table and got up. She put her book on the very table next to her cup of coffee and picked up her glock from the side table. She made her way to the door, her weapon in her hand, ready to shoot. She peeped through the peephole and her eyebrows scrunched up. She relaxed her arms and opened the door.

"Hi Lisbon! What took you so long to answer?"

"It's 11pm and normal people don't show up at this time at other people's places." She said. Her breath hitched up as the familiar figure ruffled up his blond hair to shake off drops of rain. She just loved how his hair looked all tussled up.

"I got us some Chinese…" he said and held out a brown paper bag with the logo of a local Chinese restaurant.

"Come in, Jane…" Lisbon sighed and motioned to him with her head. He suddenly halted as he stepped in.

"Wow! She-James Bond! What's with the gun?" he said as he held up his hands in surrender.

"Shut up! How was I supposed to know that it was you?" Lisbon asked.

"I understand but please put it away. I am not here to fight you. It's just a friendly visit…" he replied as he shook the paper bag at her face. Lisbon rolled her eyes as she closed the door and walked behind him and put her gun back on the side table. "Whoa! Not here please!" he said.

"It's at the side table, Jane! And I am not touching it! It won't fire by itself!" she said defensively.

"Please keep it away from my sight!" he lamented. Lisbon could not help but smile slightly as she put it under the sofa. The truth was that she could not go anywhere without her gun. She had it with her wherever she was, whether in the living room reading a book, in the kitchen preparing a meal or in the shower, in which case she would place it at a higher shelf in her water cubicle. She felt secure when she had her gun with her. She felt she could counter anything.

"Are you happy now?" she asked, sighing.

"Yes! Thank you very much!" Jane said as he sat on the single sofa opposite her. He removed the boxes of Chinese take-out from the paper bag and handed her one. "Chicken schezwan and vegetable fried rice…just the way you like it."

"Awww…thank you, Jane." Lisbon appreciated as she dug in with her fork. She was hungry but was too lazy to cook. She thought of ordering something from out but was not sure what. So she finally settled in with her cup of coffee that was still on the table. As the initial hunger got satisfied, she gave Jane a questioning look.

"What?" he said as he looked up at her from his own food. "Can't a friend and a colleague visit another friend or colleague at her house?"

"Yeah…they can. But not this one…" she said as she pointed at him with her fork. Then her expression became serious. "Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah…" he said as he tried to look away but his eyes fell on the book that she was reading. He put down his food and picked up her book to read at the back. Lisbon tried to snatch her book away but he held it away from her, still reading. "Ahhh…'As Long As We Both Shall Live' by Lurlene McDaniel…" he said as he held the book out to her which she forcefully snatched away from him. "That explains the used tissue papers…" he said teasingly as he motioned to her used stack of tissue papers.

"None of your business!" she said curtly as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

"No need to be embarrassed…I see that you are still a romantic at heart…" he said as she scowled at him. "Why do you read such books?" he asked.

"None-of-your-business!" she said as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'll tell you why!" he said as Lisbon rolled her eyes at him. "You long to have true love just like the people have in this book. You make up for your lack thereof by reading such novels and identifying with those characters as a way of satisfaction."

"That is not true! I am very much satisfied by the life I live right now. I don't need someone to fill the void in my heart!" Lisbon defended herself. "Besides, this book was a gift. So I was just reading it…" she said as she cautiously got back to eating, her attention not really in the food. She hated how he judged her.

"Who talked of a void in your heart? You have it there and that is why you subconsciously talk about it…" he said as Lisbon shook her head in defeat. "And besides…" he started as he imitated her "It's not a gift. It has a price tag on it…" he said as he motioned to the book. Lisbon looked at the price tag.

"Yeah…but that does not mean…" she started saying but Jane interrupted: "Do you want to argue with me on this? Because I could go all night…" Lisbon sighed. He continued: "I am not judging you…it's not wrong to wish for a partner who welcomes you at home with a nice cup of coffee and ask you about your day…someone who could lay you in his arms as you tell him about the day you had or about how you felt…it's normal." He finished. Lisbon held his gaze, almost wanting to pour out her heart to him. She felt lonely quite often and she also wondered how it would be to have a companion to share her life with. She got up from her sofa and walked over to her dining area and looked out of her window onto the streets that were still bustling with lots of activities. It was drizzling and that weather made her feel lonelier, thinking of how she could cuddle up with someone in that cold.

"It's alright for you to feel that void in your heart, Lisbon." He said as he walked over to her. She turned to look at him, loneliness in her eyes. Jane's eyes depicted sympathy and something else…something that she could not quite make out. "Sometimes I wish there would be someone waiting for me at home as well…" he finished. He stepped closer to Lisbon…and even closer to her until she felt he had entered her personal space. He looked down at her and her at him, his face inches from hers and continued: "someone who… uh… someone I can trust. Someone strong. Someone at peace with themselves. Someone better than me. Someone who knows the...worst side of me and still loves me."

"I love you, Patrick." Lisbon said immediately as she looked intensely in his eyes, her own emerald orbs moistening.

"I know, Teresa…I know…" he said and smiled lovingly as they leaned in for a kiss.

"Huh!" Lisbon exclaimed as she sat up on her bed, violently woken up by her alarm clock. She was breathing fast and was all sweaty. She turned to her alarm clock and forcefully banged the alarm button to stop it. She breathed out as she ran her hands over her hair, trembling as shock overcame her on her dream. She thanked God that it was just a dream and wiped the sweat on her face away with the back of her hands as she quickly got up for a shower. Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. She fumbled with her phone as she tried not to drop it. Once it was safe in her hands, she pressed the receive button and placed it hesitantly next to her ear.

"H…hello?" she said.

"Lisbon! Where have you been? Rigsby and Cho have been trying to call. There is a double homicide. You need to come to the crime scene. Rigsby has already texted you the address." Jane said from the other side.

"Oh…ummm...I will be there soon." She said cautiously.

"Are you alright? Did you just wake up?" Jane asked.

"Yes…thank God I was asleep…" said Lisbon in a daze as she remembered the exact moment when she confessed her love to him and they kissed.

"Sorry…?" he said inquisitively. That brought Lisbon back to earth.

"Nothing…I'll see you in a bit." She said and cut the phone. She quickly rushed to the bathroom as she still had time for a quick shower before starting her what was sure going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

"Morning boss!" Van Pelt greeted as Lisbon got out of her car.

"Van Pelt." Lisbon acknowledged as she nodded while walking towards the body. "Talk to me, Rigsby…"

"Our victim number one is 42 year old James Collingwood. He is the owner of a chain of hotels and casinos here in Sacramento and New York among other states. He has a wife and 2 daughters." Rigsby said as he flipped through his notebook. Lisbon approached his body. There were gunshots to the stomach and chest. His phone was on the floor, next to him. "Victim number 2…" Rigsby continued as he pointed to another body next to James', "Is a hobo. The locals say that he lives in a shanty near the dump. They call him Joe the hobo…still no ID…"Lisbon looked at Joe's body. Similar gunshots on the chest and leg.

"Van Pelt, bag the phone from our victim number one. Go through it and give me records of all phone calls and emails and texts in the past month. Rigsby, run the photo of Joe, the hobo through the database….see if you can get a positive ID. Where is Cho?" Lisbon asked.

"Here boss!" Cho answered as he walked towards Lisbon with his notepad. He read from it: "Our victims were found here by a Dennis Michaels, a 24 year old student at the University campus nearby. He was cycling here as part of his morning workout when he saw our victim and Joe the hobo. He called 911 immediately."

"Hmmm…Have you notified James' family?" Lisbon asked. Just as Cho was about to answer, they heard a scream coming from the crowd behind the yellow line.

"Oh my God! James! Oh Lord!" cried the woman as she tried to break past the policeman who was trying to hold her back. "Let me go! That's my husband!" she cried as she fought the policeman.

"Ma'am, you are not allowed to go in there…" the policeman gravely stated.

"Notified the family already…" Cho concluded as he motioned towards the woman. Lisbon breathed in deeply.

"It's ok Charles. Let her in…" Lisbon called out to the policeman who immediately released the woman as she came running towards them.

"James! Oh my God! James!" she cried as she attempted to touch the body.

"No ma'am. This is a crime scene…you can't touch anything." Van Pelt said as the woman knelt on the ground, looking at her husband as tears dropped down her face.

"No! Please! This can't be happening! Please do something!" she cried out as she covered her mouth with her hands and wept uncontrollably. Van Pelt held her by the shoulders as she calmly asked her to get up and when she did, she helped her to the police van where she gave her some water to drink.

"This is not good at all. She'll need some counselling before we talk to her…" Lisbon said as she looked at the woman.

"Speaking of which, where is Jane?" Rigsby asked as he looked around. Cho shrugged. Lisbon felt a rush of heat on her fact at the mention of his name but she pursed her lips and maintained a straight face. Just then, Jane came out of a house on the opposite street. He had his hands in his pockets and an infamous smile threatened to break on his lips. Seeing him drained the colour off Lisbon's face.

"Good morning Lisbon!" he said as he approached them. "Nice of you to join us…" he teased. Lisbon swallowed hard as she struggled to answer. Of course that didn't go unnoticed by Jane. His train of thoughts was interrupted by Rigsby.

"What were you doing in that house?" Rigsby asked.

"Oh…nothing. Just a nosy neighbour…" Jane replied and shrugged.

"Alright…we are done here. Van Pelt…" Lisbon called out as Van Pelt approached her. "Take her for counselling before you bring her in for interrogation. Rigsby, work on Joe's identification…Cho, bank accounts of James and have a look at the surveillance cameras to check on our assailant's ID."

"Yes boss!" they all answered in unison as they set out their own ways.

"Angela…" Lisbon called out to the M.E who was examining the bodies and writing something on a paper. "Please e-mail me the autopsy reports the moment you are done with them…"

"Yes Teresa…" Angela smiled and nodded.

"Alright…get crackin' guys!" Lisbon said as she walked towards her car.

"Hey!" Jane called out as he followed her. "Hey Lisbon!" he called out again and that seemed to get her attention as she turned to look at him.

"Is everything alright?" Jane asked as he stopped right opposite her.

"Yes!" she said in an odd highly pitched tone. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…you didn't ask me what I thought about the victims…and you are speaking in a high-pitched voice. You do that only when you are nervous or when you are lying…" Jane replied.

"Are you psychoanalysing me?" Lisbon asked, irritated.

"Is that even a word?" Jane asked as Lisbon rolled her eyes and walked away. "Wait! I am serious…" he said as he followed her again. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"I am fine…just a little tired." Lisbon replied as she cooled off seeing genuine concern in his eyes.

"You look like you did not sleep well last night…" he said as Lisbon got into her car. "Did you have a bad dream?" he asked and Lisbon hesitated a bit before she fastened her seat belt. "Ahhh…bad dream it is…sometimes it helps to talk about it." He said and smiled at her. She looked at him tiredly.

"Please Jane, I don't want to talk about it." She said in a pleading tone.

"Ok…your choice…" he said as he held up his hands in surrender. Lisbon started up the engine and drove off as Jane looked at the rear of the car as it disappeared around the corner. His eyebrows scrunched up in thought as he slowly put down his hands. He then walked to his car and drove off too.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey boss…" Rigsby called as he walked into Lisbon's office with a piece of paper in his hands. "We have a positive ID on Joe, the hobo. His name is Anthony Thorne, 45 years of age. He had a wife and a daughter who died 7 years ago in a car accident and ever since, he has lost his money, house, respect in the society and last but not the least…his mind!" he finished off with a smile. Lisbon looked at him with a straight face. "Sorry…" he said and handed her the piece of paper. Lisbon perused through it.

"Do we have any information about his relatives? Maybe his parents or siblings?" Lisbon asked.

"Ah…yeah…we found his younger brother, Philip Thorne. He is from Sacramento and is on his way as we speak."

"Alright…let me know when he arrives." Lisbon replied as Rigsby nodded and walked out the door. Lisbon left her office and went to the bullpen where the rest of the team were working. She approached Jane who was sipping his tea, deep in thought. "Jane, we should go and talk to Mrs Collingwood." Jane looked up at her and nodded. He put his cup of tea on Cho's desk and followed Lisbon out of the bullpen.

"Why don't you ever let me drive?" Jane asked as Lisbon sat on the driver's seat.

"Because you drive too fast…" Lisbon answered nonchalantly.

"As if you never break any rules…Saint Teresa…" Jane said and rolled his eyes as he looked away.

"What do you mean? I have broken plenty of rules…just never got caught…" Lisbon shrugged as she started the engine.

"Oh! So you've done bad stuff…" Jane said, trying to bait her.

"Yes…and you don't need to know. I hope Mrs Collingwood is in a better shape today. I don't like wailing widows." Lisbon answered.

"Hmmm…when they do that, it's just a ruse to throw you off them if you suspect them." Jane said and Lisbon muttered an 'I guess'.

"So…Mrs Collingwood…" Lisbon started.

"Just call me Debra…" She said as she wiped off tears from her eyes. Jane observed her demeanour critically. That comment seemed to surprise Lisbon a little.

"Ok…Debra…your husband was a wealthy and successful businessman. Can you think of anyone who could have done this? Maybe jealous of his wealth?" Lisbon asked.

"No." Debra said and shook her head as she wiped more tears. "He achieved whatever he had by his own hard work and whoever knew him appreciated that about him and respected him for that."

"Ok…and did you notice anything different about him on the day he died as he left home?"

"No…nothing. It was a normal day. He had his breakfast and as he left, he told me that he was going to be late because he had a meeting." She said as she sniffed.

"With who?" Lisbon asked, her interest showing.

"I don't know. He never discussed business at home. In fact, he never brought work home. We had a strict policy that he kept his business issues in office where they belonged." Debra said as she smiled sadly, remembering her husband fondly.

"Ok…you have a son…?" Lisbon asked as she looked around. Jane was snooping around in the room and that made Debra a tad bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah…Mark. He is 17. He was on a vacation in Mexico. He is flying in tonight."

"Alright. We might need to question him as well. So give us a call as soon as he lands and we can get over with that faster." Lisbon said as she jotted down a couple of things in her notepad.

"Sure." She said and nodded.

"Good. I think we are done for now." Lisbon said as she looked at Jane. Then she turned back to Debra. "I am really sorry once again for your loss, Mrs Collingwood." She finished off sympathetically.

"Oh! Just one last question, Mrs Collingwood…if you don't mind…" Jane said respectfully as he glanced at both Debra and Lisbon. "Who is this?" he asked as he pointed at a woman in a picture that they had on top of the fireplace.

"That! That's my husband's secretary, Caroline. This is a picture taken from a brunch we had had a couple of months ago. We had invited all my husband's employees on that day." Debra said.

"And where are the rest of the employees in this picture? It's got only yourself, your husband, son and this wildly attractive lady…" Jane said and Lisbon raised an eyebrow at the 'wildly attractive lady' part.

"Yeah…my husband always said that that picture really showed what our family was…" Debra replied as she stiffened a little. Jane narrowed his eyes in wonder at that statement.

"Ok Lisbon…let's go." Jane said as he walked out immediately. Lisbon, surprised by Jane's sudden departure, nodded at Debra politely and walked out really fast, trying to catch up with Jane.

"Jane! Jane!" she called out as she walked fast to match his pace. "What was that?" she asked.

"She is hiding something about that woman from us…" Jane said gravely as they approached Lisbon's vehicle. Jane made his way to the passenger side as Lisbon went to the driver's.

"Who? The wildly attractive one in the picture?" Lisbon asked, raising her eyebrows and a slight irritation visible on her face. Jane scrunched up his eyebrows in wonder as he shrugged.

"Well, she is attractive!" Jane said in his defence.

"That is totally unprofessional. How many times have I told you to behave like a CBI consultant?" Lisbon asked in a huff as she started the engine.

"And how many times have I listened to you? And again, how is calling a wildly attractive woman 'wildly attractive' unprofessional?" Jane asked teasingly. Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"Talking to you is like banging my head against the wall…" Lisbon said.

"That is insulting…" Jane said as he feigned hurt.

"Go to hell!" Lisbon said as she angrily drove off.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey boss…" Van pelt said as she approached Lisbon in the bullpen. Lisbon looked up from the papers she was holding. "Got the phone records for James Collingwood. Nothing out of the ordinary…couple of calls to his friends at Paretza's Golf club. They said James had called them to schedule a time for their yearly golf tournament. Debra Collingwood confirmed those details. There was something weird though, depending on how you look at it…there are more than 50 calls in the last one month to his secretary Caroline Maritza. I know she's the secretary and all…but some phone calls were made in the middle of the night."

"Maybe he was working late…" Lisbon reasoned out.

"That's possible…but Debra said he never brought work home." Van Pelt said and Lisbon nodded.

"Jane's theory that Debra is hiding something about Caroline seems to be making sense. What if James was having an affair with Caroline?" Lisbon asked out loud.

"Lisbon…" Cho called as he joined her and Van Pelt. "Philip Thorne is here…"

"Oh yeah! Joe, the hobo's brother…" Lisbon said in thought. "Interrogate him. See what he's got. Though I doubt that he'll have anything to say on his death. I think his death involves James Collingwood, Debra and Caroline. I have to talk to Debra once again." She said as she got up from the desk she was sitting and made her way towards the attic. She sighed at the thought that she was supposed to take Jane with her to question Debra.

"Jane!" she said as entered his 'room'.

"Lisbon! You have warmed up to the idea that Debra is hiding something from us." Lisbon opened her mouth in surprise but knew better not to ask him about how he knew that.

"Let's go and talk to her once again…" Lisbon said as she straightened her jacket.

"After you, my dear…" Jane said as he got up from his chair and stretched his hand out gracefully, motioning towards the door. Lisbon shook her head ever so slightly and started walking as Jane followed her closely.

***mentalist***

Lisbon knocked on the door to the magnificent Collingwood mansion and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for someone to answer.

"Is something bothering you?" Jane asked. She looked at Jane.

"No…I am fine…" she answered as she knocked on the door again, loudly and urgently.

"Is it about the nightmare that you had?" Jane asked, daring to step into unchartered waters.

"I said I am fine!" Lisbon said irritatingly. "Alright…something is wrong." She said as she drew out her gun from the holster. "Step back!" she ordered Jane as Jane swiftly backed up and ran towards the nearby bushes. She pointed the gun at the door and got ready to kick it down. Suddenly, Debra opened the door. She saw Lisbon holding the gun and backed inside the house.

"What is happening?" she asked, not so shaken by the weapon in Lisbon's hand.

"Oh! I am sorry. When you didn't open the door, I thought there was…" Lisbon started to explain as she put her gun back in the holster.

"I am sorry. I was changing…so it took me a little long to open up…" she explained. Lisbon shook her head and turned around to look at Jane who cautiously walked towards them.

"Come on in…" Debra said as she walked into the house, expecting Jane and Lisbon to follow. Lisbon waited for Jane to come. He got up the stairs and faced Lisbon directly.

"You are such a scaredy cat!" Lisbon said as she shook her head again.

"You asked me to go there! You were ready to fire!" Jane defended himself sheepishly.

"I asked you to step back…not to hide in the bushes…" she said as she started walking slowly into the house.

"Well, there is a reason why you are an agent and I am a consultant…" he said as he closely followed her.

"Scaredy cat!" Lisbon said.

"Boring workaholic!" Jane responded. They walked into the living room, willing to continue the banter after they've talked to Debra.

"So Debra…" Lisbon started as Debra looked up at her. "We wanted clarification on a couple of issues. Firstly, we looked at your husband's phone records. We don't want to be rude about this…but…" Lisbon stammered.

"Was your husband having an affair with his secretary Caroline Maritza?" Jane interrupted and asked directly.

"What?" Debra reacted in shock.

"Jane!" Lisbon called out in anger.

"That is the question you wanted to ask only in a sugar-coated manner. We have information that your husband called his secretary much more than anyone else. About 50 calls in a month. Much more than how he calls you…" Jane said as he looked at her, provoking her.

"What is that supposed to mean? My husband died just 2 days ago and you have the nerve to ask me whether he had an affair?!" Debra spat out. "Agent Lisbon, do you have any control over him?"

"Debra…I am so sorry about this. He does not mean to…" Lisbon began explaining.

"Please!" she said as she held out her hand to stop her from talking. "You obviously don't have any control over your man!" Debra finished. Jane smiled at a very angry and embarrassed Lisbon.

"Obviously not…but you had no control over your husband either…" Jane said, yet again ticking off Lisbon. "He was having an affair with his secretary. You were no longer 'interesting' to him…or he fell out of love with you. Which is it?" Jane asked, almost menacingly.

"Shut up!" Debra cried as she uncontrollably shook with anger. Lisbon cocked her head in interest.

"Yes Mrs Collingwood. I looked at James' diary. He mentioned something about a divorce." Jane said and Lisbon looked at him in surprise. There was no such diary.

"That son of a bitch! He told me we would work it out. We'd see a marriage counsellor." Debra said as she slowly descended on the couch. Jane looked at Lisbon triumphantly who scowled at him.

"Why didn't you mention anything about this to us?" Lisbon asked her.

"And tell you what? That my husband was having an affair with his secretary and that he no longer found me attractive?" Debra said as she sighed.

"You could have started with that!" Jane said as he found himself being stared at lethally by Lisbon and Debra. "Ok…message received…" Jane said as he held up his hand in defeat.

"Since when has this affair been going on?" Lisbon asked cautiously as she didn't want to offend Debra in any way. She hated crying women. She just couldn't handle them.

"A little over a month…" Debra said as tears flowed freely. Lisbon looked around nervously looking for a box of tissues. She found one on the side table and handed it to her. Debra wiped her tears. "I walked in on him kissing that slut in his office. He…he told me it was just sex…and that was it. I told him that we should stay away for some time. He begged me not to go…" she said as she struggled to continue. "He told me that we'd see a counsellor and we'll work it out…for Mark…" she said as she cried even more.

"Ok. We are sorry for offending you in any way. We'll go now…" Lisbon said as she motioned towards Jane.

"How could you be so insensitive?" Lisbon asked as she walked towards their car.

"I knew that was coming…" Jane muttered.

"I mean…how can you talk to a widow like that? She just lost her husband for God's sake!" Lisbon shouted as she got into the driving seat and Jane in the passenger seat next to her.

"Come on Lisbon! If anything, she might have murdered her husband." Jane reasoned out. Lisbon looked at the road ahead in thought.

"You actually have a point. She has motive…her husband was having an affair with his secretary." Lisbon said.

"Yeah…women who get cheated on are very dangerous." Jane said. Lisbon nodded and revved up the engine.


	5. Chapter 5

"Van Pelt…what was the last call on James' phone?" Lisbon asked as she stared at the glass board in front of her. It was full of evidentiary documents and pictures and notes stuck on it.

"It was to his house. Debra said she had talked to him last before the accident and had argued with him about the meal they had had on their first anniversary. Apparently James could not remember what they had eaten then." Van Pelt said and Lisbon raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well…something definitely worth fighting about!" Lisbon said sarcastically.

"I had the phone company send me a recording of their conversation…just to make sure that she indeed talked to her husband on the phone. Debra appears to be saying the truth." Van Pelt said.

"The forensic report says James was shot close range while he was in his moving car. That means another car must have approached him and someone shot him then. It appeared that the assailant shot James once in his car which made him lose his balance and he swerved off the road. There were also tyre tracks of another car that appear to have been omitted or rather stomped." Cho said as he referred to a file in his hands.

"The assailant tried to cover his tracks…literally." Lisbon stated. "The wife couldn't have shot him if she was at home at that time, talking to him on the phone."

"And how does Joe, the hobo fit into all this? Cho interrogated his brother and nothing useful came out of it." Rigsby asked.

"The only explanation to that was perhaps he was just roaming around that area and he saw the murder happening. So the assailant killed him too." Lisbon said.

"Mark Collingwood, James's and Debra's son also has nothing much to offer…" Van Pelt stated.

"Yeah. He said he hated his mum to be this sad. And he knew it was all because of his dad. And he figured it out…seeing how Caroline was always around, that his dad was having an affair with her. He said he could not see his mum sad and given a chance, he would have shot his dad himself." Lisbon explained the findings of that interrogation.

"Nah! He sympathises with his mother but has no temperament to kill someone. That boy wouldn't even hold a weapon without peeing on himself first." Jane said and Rigsby scoffed. Lisbon looked at him. She was not impressed. Rigsby muttered a 'sorry'.

"Jane, we'll have to talk to Caroline." Lisbon said.

"Hmmm…" Jane answered in thought. "I have a feeling we'll get something out of her…"

***mentalist***

"Caroline Maritza please? We are with the CBI." Lisbon told the receptionist at Collingwood Offices, while flashing her badge.

"Just a minute…" said the redhead and called an extension line. "Carol, the CBI is here. They want to talk to you…" and then there was a pause for a couple of seconds. "Alright…" she said and finally put the receiver down. She then looked up at Jane and Lisbon. "She's expecting you… down the corridor, it's the second door to your left …"

"Thank you…" Lisbon said and walked towards the corridor. Jane nodded courteously at the receptionist and followed Lisbon. Lisbon stood outside the door that was labelled 'Mr James Collingwood.' She knocked on the door as she waited for an answer.

"Come in…" Came a soft voice from inside the door. Lisbon and Jane walked in. There were a couple of sofas and a potted plant on the left corner of the room. There was also an aquarium of fish on the front wall. One of the other walls was adorned with an abstract painting…very colourful. Finally, there was Caroline sitting at her desk, her eyes puffy and she was sniffing and wiping away at her nose which was slightly red. She was a rather attractive blonde woman, petite and very much good looking.

"Wow!" Jane whispered as he admired her beauty. Lisbon looked at him angrily and stepped on his foot. "Ouch!" he retorted. Caroline looked up, rather concerned.

"Are you ok?" she asked. Jane muttered a 'yes'.

"Hi…I am agent Teresa Lisbon and this is Patrick Jane. He is a consultant with the CBI…" Lisbon said as she held out her hand to Caroline. Caroline nodded politely and shook Lisbon's and Jane's hand.

"I am really sorry about Mr Collingwood's death…is there anything you can tell us about that? Anything that could help us solve this case?" Lisbon asked as she removed her notepad from her pocket.

"I am not sure what could be helpful…" Caroline replied, clearly confused.

"I mean…would you know of anyone who would want Mr Collingwood dead? He was a successful businessman…anyone could have wanted his life…" Lisbon expounded.

"No…he didn't do anything illegal. He had really good friends and whoever dealt with him was always full of praises. James…" she said and then realized she wasn't addressing him as his personal secretary would. "Mr Collingwood was a plausible man. And humble too. He started off as a small scale retailer and he has reached to his highest ability with a lot of humility, knowing that it's all his hard work that paid off. He didn't analyse people by their bank accounts but their ability to work and relate with others. And people respected him for that…" she finished off with her eyes moist.

"Can we see his office?" Lisbon asked as she pointed to another door.

"Sure…" she said as she led them into the office. It was quite a neat one. The whole office was done in black, white and grey with splashes of colour here and there in the form of either a blood red vase on his table or colourful painting, an exact copy of the one in Caroline's office or sea green photo frame that had his family on it. Jane opened the right side draw to his desk. He motioned Lisbon quietly to come and have a look at the contents as Caroline went on about what a good man James was as she looked at that abstract painting. Lisbon scrunched up her eyebrows and then threw Jane an 'I knew it!' look.

"Caroline…" Jane called as Caroline stopped talking and turned to look at them. They had already closed that drawer and moved to the middle of the room. "Do you mind if we opened the drawers of the desk?"

"Not at all…" she said. Jane made his way to that very drawer. "Wait…not that one." She said quickly.

"Why not?" Lisbon asked, clearly impatient with the game Jane was playing. Why not just ask her directly to explain the contents of the drawer.

"Well…ummm…the key was with Ja…Mr Collingwood and I have no idea where it is." Caroline said rather nervously.

"Oh…not a problem. We can have one our team members, Cho, come and open it for us…?" Jane rather asked, turning his attention to Lisbon. Lisbon rolled her eyes in frustration.

"No…I mean that could be invasion of privacy…" she said defensively.

"Caroline, we have the authority over all James' personal belongings if we feel that it is useful for our investigation…" Lisbon said authoritatively.

"Oh! I like it when you go all authoritative…" Jane said teasingly.

"I am serious, Jane. Can you please get to the point here?" Lisbon said in frustration. Jane looked at Caroline.

"Do we have your permission to look at the drawers?" Jane asked politely.

"Actually…uhhh…it's actually not locked." Caroline said nervously.

"Really?" Jane asked, feigning shock.

"Well! We would never have guessed!" Lisbon said loudly and sarcastically. She pursed her lips. She was not impressed with the games Jane was playing. And she was definitely not impressed by the way Jane was behaving. He was actually flirting with her! That jerk! And she was wondering why that bothered her a lot. And she hated herself for that.

"Relax Lisbon! Please calm down…" Jane said calmly which annoyed Lisbon even more. Jane opened the drawer. A photo of Caroline in a frame lay there. Jane feigned shock as he removed that frame in slow motion. He then removed a small box…it seemed to contain a ring.

"Oh my God!" Caroline screamed as she covered her mouth with her hand. "He wanted to propose to me!" she said as she collapsed on to the sofa.

"Would you like to explain that to us, my dear?" Jane asked gently as he leaned over her, handing her his handkerchief for her to wipe her fresh tears. Lisbon looked in shock at how he was behaving.

"James…he…he…and I…we…we…were in a relationship." She said as if it was a great revelation.

"Oh!" Jane said, as he placed his hand on his chest dramatically. Lisbon shook her head.

"Yeah…we would never have guessed that too!" Lisbon said, sarcastically once again. That seemed to irk Jane as well. He turned to look at Lisbon and shrugged. Lisbon shook her head and sighed in frustration.

"It's been over a month. He was tired of his wife and I understood his frustration. He used to talk to me…as a friend at the beginning. And then we got serious. And then his wife found out. And she wasn't happy about it. So she threatened James that she would leave him and would take Mark along with her. That was the reason why James was hesitant to file for divorce. He loved his son very much. So he promised his wife that they would go to counselling."

"Oh no…I am so sorry about that, Caroline." Jane said. At that moment, Lisbon felt she was going to strangle him.

"Ok Caroline. Thank you for your time." Lisbon said and looked at Jane. "Let's go…" she said and started leaving.

"I'll call you…" Jane said as he started to leave too but after seeing Lisbon glaring at him, he clarified "If there is any news, I'll call you…" he said and left. Lisbon walked towards the car furiously.

"Seriously! 'I'll call you!' I mean, are you out of your mind? What were you trying to do? Flirting with her? She lied to us that the drawer was locked! It was clearly open! How did she think she was going to get away with it if we tried to open the drawer and it would have opened? I mean, is this the way you deal with suspects?" Lisbon started shooting those questions. "You never behaved that way before! What the hell happened to you?" she finally said as she entered the driver's seat.

"What the hell happened to YOU?!" Jane exclaimed as he entered the passenger's seat.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lisbon asked.

"You were so rude in there! What was the deal with that?" he asked.

"Rude? I was rude?" Lisbon asked defensively.

"Yes! You were…" Jane said.

"Oh…I don't want to discuss this with you. You'll obviously say that she was saying the truth…" Lisbon said as she drove off.

"Well, she was saying the truth…" Jane said.

"Yeah…we'll see about that later." She replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Lisbon's phone rang. She was sitting on her couch at home, thinking about how Jane was behaving with Caroline. She was so furious that he was flirting unprofessionally with her. She put her wine glass down as she looked at the screen of her phone. It was Director Bertram. She immediately sat up and sighed, frustrated. It was always bad news when the director himself called.

"Director…" she answered.

"Agent Lisbon." He acknowledged. "I hope I am not catching you at a bad time."

"No sir, not at all. To what do I owe this honour?" she asked in forced courtesy.

"I heard about the argument you had with Patrick Jane at the office today." He said casually. Lisbon's mind went back to what had happened at the office. They had called Caroline for a further interview. Jane was being too nice again, much to Lisbon's dismay. The information that she (Caroline) offered seemed to be genuine according to everyone else apart from her. Everyone…even Grace seemed to think she was saying the truth. But Lisbon couldn't get down to it.

"Yes sir. I just have my doubts about the suspect." She said coolly.

"Jane does not seem to think so." He replied.

"Well, Jane can be wrong sometimes."

"And when exactly has he been wrong?" he asked. Lisbon thought about that. Damn it! He was right!

"I am sorry, sir. I just don't know why I don't have a good feeling about her." she wondered out loud.

"Well, that is for you to decide: Is this about Caroline or is it about Jane?"

"Pardon me?" Lisbon asked, suddenly wary of how the conversation is steering towards the uncomfortable zone.

"It seems to me that this is not about the suspect."

"What else can it be, sir? I just can't trust her." Lisbon said. She felt like she was being cornered.

"Well, I don't know. You better get to the bottom of this. And if this is about Jane, I suggest you solve that problem immediately. I can't have two of my finest personnel up in arms about this…especially against each other. Is that clear?" He said rather authoritatively.

"Crystal." Lisbon said respectfully.

"Good. Have a nice evening." Bertram said and disconnected. Lisbon held her phone to her ear for a second more before she gently lowered it on the table. She hated ultimatums from her bosses. It irked her how they interfered with her job. She was a fine agent and she knew that. That night, she went to bed annoyed at Bertram, but most of all, at Jane.

***mentalist***

"Jane…" Lisbon called out as she walked towards the bullpen the next morning. Jane looked up at her from his cup of tea. "In my office…now." She said as she walked into her office angrily. Rigsby, Cho and Van Pelt exchanged worried looks over their computers. Jane got up and put his cup of tea on Rigsby's desk.

"Ooooo…trouble…" Jane muttered before he hurriedly went to her office. "Good morning, Lisbon. You seem to be tensed." He said casually. She was standing near her chair, obviously impatient.

"Caroline…is she saying the truth?" she asked.

"Sorry?" Jane asked, obviously taken aback by her directness.

"Do you think she's saying the truth?" she asked, yet again. Jane could tell she was trying to control her temper.

"Yes. She showed signs of…" Jane went on to explain but Lisbon interrupted.

"That is all I wanted to know from you. You can go back to your couch." She said as she sat on her chair and started clicking on her keyboard.

"Lisbon, I sense hostility here that you have towards my person." Jane said. Lisbon was irritated.

"I have work to do, Jane." She said, eyes glued to the monitor.

"Lisbon…" Jane said but she flashed him an angry look. "I was just having fun…" he said. He looked sober.

"I didn't ask you to explain anything." She said as she went back to her typing. She truly had no idea what she was typing. She just wanted to look busy. Jane sat at the chair opposite hers and kept on staring at her. A few minutes passed and as much as she tried to ignore his persistent eyes, they kept on weighing her down. She sighed and looked at him. "What is it?"

"Lisbon, I know I was behaving unprofessionally. But I have no intention of being with her. I was just having some fun." Jane said as a matter of factly.

"Why are you explaining yourself to me?" Lisbon asked arrogantly.

"You seem to be in need of that explanation." Jane said curtly and she sighed again.

"You were totally unprofessional. You kept on flirting with her. What were you trying to achieve by doing that?" Lisbon asked, unfolding her frustration.

"I was just having a good time. Plus, it helps in getting out more information from suspects." Jane said, a playful tone in his voice. Lisbon rolled her eyes at him. Then he suddenly became serious. "Right now, my priority is Red John. He killed my wife and daughter. That is something I'll never forgive him for."

"What happens when you find him?" Lisbon asked warily.

"He is mine…" Jane said stubbornly. Lisbon could see it in his eyes, the passion for revenge.

"And then? What happens to your life after that?" Lisbon asked again, this time even more carefully. Jane looked at her in the eyes.

"I cannot even think of any other woman apart from Angela, if that is what you are asking." Jane said quickly. Lisbon's heart was racing. "No one has ever loved me like she did and I will never love anyone else like I love her…" he said stubbornly and walked out.

Lisbon was certain there was a voice like a glass had been shattered mercilessly. The sound was too loud in her ears. But she found no such reaction on Jane or on anyone else at the office at that sound and it is then that she realized that it came from within her. She imagined sharp pieces of glasses and she felt pangs of pain in the pit of her stomach from being stabbed using them. Her heart raced even more as her hands trembled. She cast glances from one end of the office to the other, trying to find a place where she could crawl in and be there for some time. She found none. It was then that her chest could not take it anymore; all the emotions inside of her had to be let out. Hot tears started to well up in her eyes. With her vision blurred from those tears, she rushed to close the blinds in her office and lock the door. She then switched on the paper shredder in her office. She stashed in many papers in the tray that automatically loaded the papers into the shredder as it made loud noises from the shredding. She then retreated slowly to her desk and just as slowly lowered herself onto the floor, gripping her chest like it was going to explode. And it definitely did. She sobbed uncontrollably and loudly, not worrying that someone will hear. The shredder did its job and she poured out all her pain in form of tears.

Meanwhile, as Jane approached his couch, he heard the shredder go on and make an almost deafening noise. Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt passed her office and cast suspicious glances at her door, on their way to the kitchen to grab some coffee. Jane lowered himself slowly on the couch. He looked at the closed blinds in her office and knew at that instant that it was not Lisbon's lack of trust in Caroline that she suspected her to be James' killer but the fact that it bothered her that Jane flirted with her. He had seen it in her eyes the moment he had called Caroline 'wildly attractive' that it had bothered Lisbon. He became certain about it when she behaved weirdly with him ever since and now the sudden blast of the shredder after he told her he is still in love with Angela. Lisbon had feelings for him. And they weren't just the feelings that co-workers or friends have for each other; it was something deeper, something even more serious. He looked at his clammy hands that he had subconsciously buried in his laps and regretted breaking her heart. He muttered under his breath: "I am sorry, Lisbon. I can't." He knew he was not ready for a relationship and frankly, he didn't know whether he will ever be…even in the near or the distant future…or even after he kills Red John.


	7. Chapter 7

Lisbon went home that day with a heavy heart. She felt like she was being carried by her legs by force. She opened the door to her house and threw the keys in the bowl. She then sighed as she sat on her couch with a thud. She was so tired. She felt like an elephant sat on her. Normally at this time when she came home, her stomach would grumble in hunger. However, today, she was not hungry at all. She was too tired even to think about what happened with Jane. She got up from the couch by force and dragged herself to the stairs. She looked up at them and thought of them as mountains. She willed herself to go up those mountains and so she did heavily. She entered her room and gently lowered herself on the bed. She put her phone on silent and placed it on her bedside table. She closed her eyes briefly. She opened them again and looked at the phone. She picked it up again and got it out of the silent mode. She didn't want to miss anyone call and secretly she wished Jane would call. She scolded herself for acting like a teenager. She had avoided him the whole day and he in turn didn't bother with her. That gave her more pain. And it filled her heart with dread of the realization that he knew…he knew she liked him…more than like him…she was in love with him. Jane always knew. When she thought of that, she couldn't meet his eye. She felt stupid, almost sheepish. Most of all, she felt vulnerable…as if her own existence depended on his very own existence and she didn't feel very nice about that. All her life, she had lived independently and she had lived on her own terms. Now having someone suddenly defining her own life was not welcomed…and certainly not Jane.

She slept in bits and pieces for a couple of hours before she decided to just get out of bed. She still had another three hours before her alarm went off. She looked out of her window into the almost empty streets. It was then that she decided to get her life together. One man cannot decide her life for her and she didn't intend to let him. She decided that she will move on and detach herself from emotions like that. Once she decided that already, she felt a tremendous burden lifted off her back. Feeling a lot better, she sat on her recliner chair and put her head back and closed her eyes. She drifted off to sleep and when she was woken up by her alarm 2 hours later, she felt the familiar feeling of emptiness that she had always felt in her life, which was more settling than the devastation she had felt the previous day. She had to be normal…especially with Jane. Her really big ego refused to be controlled by an emotion like love. Although she herself loved to be in love, she didn't want to be tied down. So she decided that it was better for her to let go of everything for the time being and do what she best does…catch the bad guys. She sighed refreshingly and went for a shower before getting ready and driving to work.

"Morning Boss…" Cho greeted her as she entered her bullpen.

"Good morning…" she replied and then saw Jane's empty couch. "Where is he?" she asked. Before anyone could answer, Jane walked in. "Oh! Nice of you to join us." She said, very much normal. Jane's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly at her casual approach. "Where are we in the Collingwood case?"

"We have officially hit a dead end. There is nothing else that we can uncover." Rigsby said as he shrugged.

"Start from the beginning. Recall all the suspects and re-interview them. See what you can get. Van Pelt, go over the phone records for James, Debra and Caroline. Pursue even the tiniest lead…Cho, I need more information about James' business. Call his lawyer…I will need to ask him a few questions."

Rigsby's phone suddenly rang. He answered and for a few seconds, he listened. "I am not interested…" he said. Then he waited for a few seconds. "No…I have a card. Thank you very much." he said and listened some more. "I said I don't want a card…I have one already." He said and disconnected the phone angrily.

"What's wrong?" Van Pelt asked.

"Credit card companies…" Rigsby replied.

"You should give them your home number. They usually call during the day while we are at work. So no one answers." Van Pelt suggested.

"It is my home number. But I diverted the home number to my cell phone as sometimes I miss important calls while I am at work. This allows me to receive important calls even at work…" Rigsby went on and on. Lisbon's eyebrows unfolded in realization. She and Jane looked at each other, communicating silently.

"Rigsby…Cho…grab your gears…" Lisbon said as she loaded her gun in readiness. They rushed to the Collingwood residence. They knocked on the door. It is Debra who answered.

"Mrs Collingwood…" Lisbon started. "You are under arrest for the murder of James Collingwood."

"Pardon me?" Debra said as she retreated slightly.

"Please ma'am. Just cooperate with us…" Lisbon said as she instinctively touched her gun in the holster. Jane waited behind her, steadily gauging Debra's reaction. Debra's eyes suddenly showed fear and suddenly, she started to run. "She is running out from the back door…" Lisbon said at the mic on her wrist as she followed her. Cho and Rigsby ran towards the door. Rigsby stood a few feet behind Cho, ready to catch Debra. The back door suddenly burst open and out came Debra running right into Cho. Cho held her tightly as she tried to resist. Lisbon followed through the door and slowly came to a stop, followed by Jane. "Enough of your games, Mrs Collingwood." Lisbon said as Rigsby read Debra her Miranda rights.

AT THE CBI HEADQUARTERS…

"Why did you kill your husband?" Lisbon asked Debra, who was seated across her in the interrogation room. She didn't reply. "We'll be here the whole day if you don't talk. It's your choice." Lisbon said. She still didn't reply. "Alright…suit yourself…" Lisbon said as she got up, ready to walk out.

"He was having an affair with that bitch!" Debra spat out. "So I talked to him…told him I was ready to do whatever he wanted in the bedroom…" she said bitterly. Lisbon squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. Rigsby and Cho looked at each other in embarrassment too. "But that son of a bitch…he told me it was not just the physical aspect…he was emotionally attached to her. Then I threatened to leave him and take our son with us. That was a reason enough for him to go for marriage counselling. But then what part did I have in it? Was I just not wanted all of a sudden? It was too much for me to digest. So, on the day he was going for his meeting, I followed him. I diverted all the calls from my house phone to my mobile phone so that the police wouldn't suspect me. As he was talking to me on the phone, arguing about our anniversary, I drove my car parallel to his and shot him. He veered off the road and stopped immediately. I pulled over to see whether he was dead. I saw him still breathing and I shot him a couple of shots more to finish him off. That is when some hobo passed by and started showing interest. As soon as he saw a dead body and a gun in my hand, he started running away but I shot him dead as he had already seen me."

"If only you could have complained to the police about his adultery…" Lisbon said.

"That will be for wronging the law. What about how hurt I was?" Debra said, now weeping. "Please don't take me away for long…what will happen to my son?"

"You should have thought about that before you killed your husband." Lisbon said curtly as she left the room, leaving behind a devastated Debra.

***mentalist***

"Lisbon, we are going out for drinks…do you want to join us?" Cho asked as he walked into Lisbon's office. She was just putting stuff in her bag, ready to go home. She looked at Van Pelt and Rigsby in the corridor, talking and laughing and she smiled slightly at that. But she couldn't ignore the throbbing pain in her temples.

"No Cho. I think I'll just go home. I have a headache." She explained. Cho muttered an 'ok' and left, motioning Rigsby and Van Pelt to follow him.

"You sure you don't want to join us?" Jane asked as he popped his head at the door.

"You are going too?" Lisbon asked in surprise.

"Yeah…just wanted to unwind a little. It is also kind of our 'closing the case' celebration sort of thing…" He answered as he walked in.

"You carry on…I think I'll just let this one go…" Lisbon said as she clicked on the 'shut down' button on her computer.

"Yeah. It's good to let things go sometimes. It's for the better…for ourselves and for the sake of others as well." Jane said, meaning it in more ways than one. That caught Lisbon's attention. She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. Jane smiled ever so slightly.

"Good night, Teresa…" he said. She nodded, trying to hide the surprise at him calling her by her first name. He walked out of the office and out of the building, her eyes following him till he was out of sight. She blinked and stood there for a few seconds before she carried her bag and left to go home.


End file.
